


Fingers In Your Hair

by Barkour



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Drugs, Episode Tag, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-12
Updated: 2012-02-12
Packaged: 2017-10-31 01:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/338384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barkour/pseuds/Barkour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It wasn't your fault." Coda to episode eight, "There Is Always A Next Time."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fingers In Your Hair

The door whisked open; the sounds of the medical wing -- harried personnel shouting, a phone ringing, the intercom asking that Dr Alexandra Higgins _please_ report to the nurse's desk _now_ \-- broke into the room. Kotetsu made to rise, though his gut trembled with the effort. The nurse, a beefy fella with eyes like marbles, put his big hand on Kotetsu's shoulder and shoved him down. Kotetsu made a very dignified sound.

"You'll tear it open," said the nurse placidly.

Kotetsu clutched at his chest. "I think you just did."

"Oh, no," said the doctor. She lowered her clipboard, one long fingernail holding the front page up. "Not you again."

"Hey, doc," said Kotetsu. He ventured a small wave and a smile that stuttered. "What's up?"

"It's 'what's up, Doc,'" said the nurse.

Kotetsu glared sidelong at him. "Who asked you?"

"This is the second time this month," said the doctor. Right! Jolene Ackerman. That's what her name tag said. "Surely if you cannot heed buildings, you can heed yourself."

She snapped a rubber glove in place. Her eyebrow, penciled red onto her dark skin, arched. Silently, the nurse handed her a long pair of tweezers. Kotetsu braced.

"I didn't really have time to think of anything else," he said, thinking now: this doctor was, what, ten years his junior? Still, he felt like he was in front of his second grade teacher, Missus -- what was her name.

Doctor Ackerman bent over his chest. The tweezers flashed, line of silver out of a sci-fi film, then its teeth were in his skin, gumming gently in the abrasion.

"You have a first degree burn across your pectorals." Her voice was remote; it carried as if from a distance. Her breath settled along his collar. "Second degree between the fifth and sixth pairs of ribs. Superficial partial thickness; it isn't severe. I'll prescribe an aloe which should help with the pain."

She dropped three tiny stones on the silver tray by his head. Kotetsu relaxed his fingers in the sheets then tightened them again. Past her tightly curled hair, past her shoulder, the lights in the ceiling shone sterile and white. He focused on them till his eyes stung.

More grit, fetched out of his skin. Once, when Kaede had been very small, she'd fallen off her bike and skinned her knee. Tomoe had held her while he picked gravel from the cut. She hadn't talked to him after. Thought it was his fault.

"Don't take it so personally," said Tomoe later. She ran her fingers through his hair, coiling the dark strands around her fingers. "She knows you were only helping her."

The tweezers snagged in his skin; pain sparked. Kotetsu sucked his lips in between his teeth.

"Sorry," said the doctor. "That's the last of it." She gestured to the nurse, who turned to the table.

Kotetsu swallowed. His throat, dry, stuck. "And my shoulder?"

"Contusion." She began carefully wiping a thick cream across his breast. "But avoid over-using that joint for the next few days. Too much stress might strain it. You're lucky you had your power activated when you did whatever it is you did."

He smiled, slow and easy, the answer to her question. Don't look at me, doc. I'm too doped up to know what's what. Got into a fight with a flamethrower on a Friday night, you know the story.

"Hey," he said, "what happened to flowers for the self-sacrificing hero?"

"I wish you'd sacrifice less of yourself," said the doctor pointedly. She peeled her gloves off and took the fresh pair offered by the nurse. "Bandages are a biosynthetic that should speed healing."

"I know, I know," said Kotetsu. He closed his eyes.

"Why _did_ you do it this time?" She unfurled the long strip of gauze across his chest. The nurse held the tail of the bandage in place on Kotetsu's sternum with two fingertips made slick by a glove. Novelty giant-size.

 _Are you all right?_

Bunny had touched Kotetsu's shoulder with just his fingertips, only his fingertips, fluttering so light at the clavicle Kotetsu thought it the pressure of his shirt till he turned his face up to Bunny. 

He'd had never touched Kotetsu before. Had he?

This old man, Bunny would say. He'd frown, too, his mouth pinching. He'd say: He can't remember anything right.

No. He remembered. Bunny had never touched him before. He was sure of it, so very sure; he knew it was true. Bunny touched no one unless he had to; he gave his hand out so rarely and then only to those to whom he was obligated. A child in a fire. Blue Rose falling to earth as bullets showered the sky.

_Are you all right?_

He'd bent over Kotetsu, shoulders curled, his back bowed and given to Lunatic. His fingers settled hesitantly on Kotetsu's shoulder, his palm arched above the joint.

His hand had been so thin beneath Kotetsu's, tendons lean and hard. Wrist bony, his skin chilled. Skinny Bunny. He really should eat more. Maybe Kotetsu could take him out for cheeseburgers later, or to that steakhouse Antonio mentioned the other day. His head felt thick with fuzz.

A cool hand touched his shoulder; the palm settled in the hollow. Bunny? He opened his eyes, surprised. 

Doctor Ackerman frowned down at him. "Are you all right?" she asked again.

Kotetsu breathed out and coughed. His chest ached with it, but dully, less like knives driven into his skin and more like a hammer tapping. The percocet had kicked in after all.

"I need you to sit up," she said.

He eyed the nurse, who smiled. To Kotetsu's alarm, the nurse did not so much resemble a Neanderthal as an enormous teddy bear. His beady eyes weren't marbles. They were _buttons_.

"I'm only here to help," said the nurse.

"Okay," said Kotetsu, "then help me." He stuck his arm out grandly, like a king. King of heroes.

The doctor had pinned the gauze in place over his chest when someone knocked at the door, then swung it open.

"Bunny!" said Kotetsu. "You're supposed to wait for someone to tell you it's okay to come in."

Bunny smiled pleasantly at the doctor. "Ah, I'm sorry, Doctor. I only wished to see how Wild Tiger was doing."

"Oi," said Kotetsu. He leaned into the nurse's plush grip. "Oi! Bunny! I'm right here!"

"He's noisy as ever," said the doctor as she taped a poultice over Kotetsu's shoulder. "But he should be fine in a week, so long as he takes it easy. Make sure he takes it easy."

"I'll do my best," said Bunny. "Thank you very much for your hard work."

Kotetsu snorted. "This guy," he said to the nurse. "He acts like he doesn't want to be my friend, he calls me names and he doesn't answer my phone calls and he calls me _old man_ , but then he wants to be my friend. I think. Can you believe that?"

"Kind of like you," said the nurse.

The doctor and Bunny were talking. Kotetsu couldn't hear them over the nurse's hugeness.

"Damn, you're big," said Kotetsu. "Were you ever a wrestler?"

"Varsity junior and senior years, Stern Bild University." The nurse brushed at his scrub top as if to say, well. "Got my letter jacket _and_ my ring."

"Get out of town!" said Kotetsu. "I did JV track and field at SBU! Freshman year! Then I broke my leg on a hurdle."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said the nurse.

"I didn't really have a choice," Kotetsu explained. "I couldn't land on a dog."

"He has a strong reaction to percocet," said Doctor Ackerman dryly.

"Yes," said Bunny, "I can see."

"He was a puppy!" Kotetsu protested. He held his hands out to demonstrate the preciousness of the puppy, but oh, ow, ow ow ow, that hurt his side, and also he fell into the nurse. He stabbed blindly in the general direction of Bunny. "I bet _you_ would jump on a puppy."

"I'm afraid even I'm not so heartless," said Bunny. "Please excuse me a moment."

He retreated to the door. Gently, the nurse leveraged Kotetsu back upright. Cameras flashed outside the door; a boom mike showed by Bunny's ear.

"I'm very sorry," he was saying, "but Wild Tiger needs his rest--"

"Barnaby!" said one of the reporters. "Barnaby, is it true you encountered the vigilante Lunatic outside Hero Academy?"

"Were you able to learn anything from him about his goals?"

"What do you use to keep your hair so glossy?"

Kotetsu sagged into the nurse's grip. He scowled at Bunny, framed in the door, his narrow shoulders spread so wide. His hand was on the door, still, like he was angled to keep all the reporters and the cameras out. More like he wanted to keep them all to himself.

His hair _was_ glossy, though. Probably real soft, too. Kotetsu flexed his fingers idly.

"Bunny's really popular," he said to the nurse.

"I'm sure you're popular, too."

"Not really," said Kotetsu. "But that's okay. Can I lie down now? My back hurts like a fucker."

"You can set him down," said the doctor. She was smiling, which was strange. Strange, but nice, like Bunny running to Kotetsu first instead of after Lunatic.

"Rest for a few hours here," said Doctor Ackerman, "but then you're free to go home. I'll want to see you again in a week to check on those burns."

The door closed. Kotetsu looked up. 

"Why are you still here, Bunny?" Kotetsu asked.

"I'll make sure he's discharged properly," said Bunny. "Are there any special instructions?"

"This isn't the first time I've burned myself, you know."

"Just keep an eye on him for the next half hour," said the doctor. "Make sure he doesn't do anything silly like try to walk."

"My leg's not broken," Kotetsu protested. "Not anymore. I can walk if I want."

"I'm sure you could," said the nurse comfortingly. "You could walk better than anyone."

"Hell, yeah," said Kotetsu. He would've offered his fist for a bump if it didn't require so much -- stuff. Energy. That. He blinked.

When he opened his eyes, Kotetsu found Bunny had a) materialized a chair from somewhere and 2) was sitting in it. Just sitting. The room was dark but for a dimmed lamp by the bed, and both Doctor Ackerman and the cuddly nurse had left. Kotetsu blinked again, but the room stayed the same this time. He'd wanted to see Tomoe. His chest hurt again.

"Were you in a fraternity in college?" asked Bunny.

Bunny was looking at Kotetsu's shoulder. A spider was walking along the edges of the bandage, a pale spider with long, knobby legs. The spider was Bunny's hand. It moved north, spindly legs going up and up and up his shoulder. 

Kotetsu said, "No. They had too many rules. Rules are for chumps."

"Sometimes rules are there to protect you," said Bunny.

"Protect _you_ ," grumbled Kotetsu.

Bunny's hand stilled. His eyelashes dropped to his cheeks. They were very pale, too. Everything about Bunny was pale. White rabbit. Ghost. His thin mouth thinned.

Kotetsu put his hand over Bunny's wrist. Bunny's palm pressed flat against Kotetsu's collar. His eyelashes rose again. His eyes weren't pale at all.

"You shouldn't rush into things like that," Kotetsu said.

"Hypocrite," said Bunny. "All you do is rush into things."

"I know what I'm doing," Kotetsu protested.

Bunny's mouth wrinkled. "And I don't?"

Kotetsu worked his fingers down Bunny's wrist. The tendons in Bunny's hand tightened. He didn't think anybody had ever touched Bunny like this before.

Bunny looked to the foot of the bed. Bunny looked away. His hair fell across his cheek. What face did he make? Shadows consumed Bunny. The room was very dark.

"I would have been fine," said Bunny. "I had my power activated as well, old man."

"Oi!" said Kotetsu. He grabbed one of Bunny's curls and pulled it.

Bunny swore and turned on him. His eyes were huge behind his glasses, huge and furious. His lips pulled back from his teeth, and the fingers on Kotetsu's shoulder spasmed; his nails dug in. 

"Old man--" said Bunny, in a way that also said, _Asshole--_

"Heroes protect people," Kotetsu told Bunny.

"I _am_ a hero!" Bunny snapped.

Kotetsu tugged that curl again, held it close around his thumb. Bunny's hair was softer than it looked, even. Kotetsu stroked it, sliding his fingers through that pale wheat-gold cascade.

"You're people, too. Remember?"

"Please keep your hands to yourself, old man," said Bunny coldly.

"Ah," said Kotetsu. He blinked. His fingers were snarled up in Bunny's hair. Blond curls twisted between his fingers, his thumb. "Sorry."

Bunny withdrew his hand from Kotetsu's shoulder, too. His chest hurt, little spines creeping in between his ribs. The drug was wearing off.

"If you're feeling up to it, you should go home," said Bunny. He crossed his arms. His fingertips rested on the swell of his biceps. They tapped, rising, falling. His jaw worked. "You've taken up this room long enough."

"It's only been a few hours," Kotetsu complained. "Can't you be gentler?"

"Thank you," said Bunny.

The room was dark. The room was quiet. Kotetsu blinked once. Twice. He tipped his head to the side.

Bunny's face colored. The blood showed brightly in his pale cheeks, a warm flood rushing up his long, white throat into his long, cold face. He rose abruptly, jolting the chair; it clattered.

"Come on," he said shortly. "Let's go. I'll call you a cab."

Kotetsu stuck his arm out. He caught the back of Bunny's jacket.

"Help me up."

Bunny turned. His face was still flushed, but he frowned through it. Kotetsu smiled winsomely.

"If we're going to be honest, I'm here because of you, so..."

"Who asked you to jump in the way?" Bunny was a _crab_.

But Bunny bent. His hands slid down Kotetsu's back, each touch still so light. Kotetsu leaned into him under the guise of helplessness and set his chin on Bunny's shoulder.

"It's not your fault," he said.

Bunny's cheek was cool, his nose a soft line against Kotetsu's ear. His hair tickled Kotetsu's brow, his cheeks, his lips, and that was cool, too. Everything about Bunny was pale and cool and lonely.

"What?" He was irritable again. "Old man--"

Kotetsu set his hand on Bunny's shoulder, his lean, sharp shoulder, and because Bunny was so very pale, and so very cold, and so very lonely, he kissed the corner of Bunny's jaw.

"It's not your fault," he said again.

His eyes were heavy. His chest hurt, it hurt, oh, it hurt. He petted Bunny's shoulder, Bunny's soft, curling hair. It wasn't his fault.

"You did a good job," said Kotetsu.

Bunny's breath was hot in his hair; it was hot on his ear. He hadn't thought it would be so warm. He didn't know Bunny's fingers would be so gentle when they brushed his nape. He hadn't known they'd be so warm, too.

"You really don't do well with percocet," said Bunny. His voice wavered.

"Nope," Kotetsu agreed.

Bunny sighed. His hand cupped Kotetsu's neck, and his fingers were warm and they were strong.

"Come on, old man," said Bunny. This time all he meant was Kotetsu. "Get up. I'm not wasting my power getting you down to the street."

"You're not cute at all," Kotetsu mumbled, but with a little help, he got up.

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to allow myself that rarest of pleasures/terrors: the writing of fic for a narrative while I'm still in the process of consuming that narrative. (Well, that wasn't awkwardly phrased at all.) Pretend it's 2011 and the eighth episode just aired, if that helps.
> 
> Kotetsu responds to percocet in this fic much as I do in real life, which is to say: reality gets a little weird, and love gets a little stronger. I'm not sure where or how Kotetsu got that percocet, as the doctor wouldn't have given it to him till after the appointment and that with a prescription, but perhaps Hero TV keeps emergency painkillers on hand in their transports for the hero in need. Maybe I'm just making shit up on the spot. Maybe that.
> 
> Kotetsu's lying, by the way. Barnaby's _really_ cute.


End file.
